Gianluigi Buffon is the new Head of the Delegation of the Azzurri, the figure who represents the reference point for the players, especially the youngest; the guardian of the national team's identity, values and history; the off-field guide for the entire team, capable of uniting the group and facilitating the relationship between players and organisational staff; the representative of the team and the Federation, in the absence of the President, on official occasions and in relations with the media.

Carrarese, 45 years old, almost 25 of those spent wearing the Azzurri shirt: from his first matches with the Under 15s (1991-92 season) to his official debut with the Under 16s the following season (28 April 1993 in Istanbul, Final Phase of the European Championships), making his way through the ranks of the youth sectors with losses in two European finals (Under 16 in 1993 and Under 18 in 1994, as a starter) and one won (Under 21 in 1996, second-choice to Pagotto), participation in the Under 17 World Cup (Japan ‘93), one Olympiad (Atlanta ‘94, substitute for Pagliuca) and a victory in the Mediterranean Games (Bari ‘97). And then, Buffon’s long story with the Senior National Team: his journey started on 27 October 1997 in Moscow, when he was subbed on for Pagliuca under the snow. That was his first appearance (19 years, 9 months and 1 day), his last came on 23 March 2018 in the friendly against Argentina (0-2) in Manchester, after 20 years, 4 months and 27 days. 

In these 20 years, peaking with the 2006 World Cup victory, he made 176 appearances (in the squad 214 times), a record in Azzurri history. Of the 176 appearances, he started 172 of them, he played 155 full matches; 156 of his appearances came whilst he played for Juventus, 20 for Parma; 57 of his matches were friendlies, 41 European qualifiers, 39 World Cup qualifiers, 17 in the European finals, 14 in the World Cup finals, 8 in the Confederations Cup. His final record stands at 85 victories, 56 draws and 35 defeats; more than 15,000 minutes played (15,288, an average of 86’ per match); he faced Spain on the most occasions: 13 times, 2 victories, 4 draws and 7 defeats (2 of which on penalties). 

The appearances to remember: no. 67, the 2006 World Cup final (in Germany, only 2 goals conceded during the tournament, Zaccardo’s own goal and Zidane’s penalty); no.100 in 2009 against the Netherlands in Cesena; no.112 in Rome against Uruguay during which 150 years of Italy was celebrated together with Dino Zoff; no.126 against Malta in 2013 when he equalled Paolo Maldini; no.150 against Bulgaria in Palermo in 2015. In addition to his record in appearances, he also holds the record for most appearances as captain (80) and the record for most penalties saved in a single shootout (3, to Forlan, Caceres and Gargano) in the third-place playoff between Italy and Uruguay in the 2013 Confederations Cup. He saved 5 out of 15 penalties in normal time, the last two against Mifsud (Malta) and Mandzukic (Croatia); he was never sent off. 

Amongst the curiosities: the first two goals he conceded were both from his teammates, the own goals from Fabio Cannavaro on his debut in Moscow in 1997 and from Alessandro Costacurta in Italy’s victory over Paraguay; his first goal conceded from an opponent came on 27 march 1999 in Italy’s 2-1 victory over Denmark, 15 months after his debut, in his fourth match (not counting the ‘friendly’ against the World Stars team to celebrate 100 years of the FIGC). 

On his debut, he became the second youngest goalkeeper for the National Team, behind Piero Campelli (1912) before Donnarumma, subbed on for Buffon against France (2016) took first place at 17 years and 189 days. Buffon is among the players to have played in the most number of World Cup finals (5, even though he didn’t make an appearance in 1998), together with Antonio Carbajal and Andres Guardado (Mexico), Lothar Matthãus (Germany), Leo Messi (Argentina) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal). In total, he made 14 appearances at the World Cup. 

Across his career, he played 1151 matches (256 with Parma, 25 with PSG, 685 with Juventus and 176 with the National Team). His honours in the Azzurri jersey: victories in the 2006 World Cup and the 1996 U21 European Championships and the 1997 Mediterranean Games; 2nd place in the 2012 Euros, the 1995 U18 Euros and the 1993 U16 Euros. 

 

BUFFON'S AZZURRI CARE
MATCHES PLAYED							176
Friendlies	57	W	85	Minutes	15.288	Starts	171
European qualifiers	41	D	56	Average minutes	86’	Substitution appearances	4
World cup qualifiers	39	L	35	Goals conceded	146	Full matches	155
European championships	17	Points	311	Average goals conceded	0.82	Juventus	156
World Cup	14	Average points	1.76	Penalties saved	5/15	Parma	20
Confederations Cup	8			Red cards	0

 

YOUTH
OLYMPICS (95-96)		4	UNDER 21  (95-96/97-98)	11		UNDER 17 (‘94-95)	6
UNDER 23 (96-97)		0	UNDER 18 (‘94-95)	4		UNDER 16 (’92-93/93-94)	8
TOTAL YOUTH APPEARANCES					33 matches / 15w, 6d, 10l
TOTAL SENIOR + YOUTH APPEARANCES					209
TITLES	World Cup 2006, Under 21 European Championships (95-96), Mediterranean games ’97
	2nd place in Euros 2012 and Under 18 Euros (94-95)